So I am going to set the record straight from the beginning. I am not a super mom when it comes to holiday's we nod at them as they pass by with little effort. I am a bit of an all or nothing personality. Last year our Halloween costumes all came from the kids closets or dress up bin. I believe we attended 3 different Halloween parties/activities and for each one the Ryder had a different costume; sailor, leaf monster & builder. Boston's costume was a mix of clothes that were too small for her and a silly pair of earrings. I will totally own up to my inabilities but I also have frustrations with the lack of decision making on the part of my children. It seems like for 3 months proceeding Halloween they come up with a different idea for a costume, which could be frustrating if I was in the middle of a project only to have them change their mind.

I let them choose their costumes this year but I set a two rules before we started, I know these might seem a bit unreasonable to you but I really feel like this give us a good foundation for the future:
No Characters: This gave me the power to block having to Green Ninja and a Spider Man Costume in my house that would result in broken things. It also made it so I didn't add to the number of Elsa's would be running around this Halloween. I know this makes me a very mean mom. It really boils down to I would rather my kids think of Halloween in a more creative way and not play the part of some character.
Locking in Costume ideas by October 5th: I want to raise the kids to have appreciation for me and my time. I really could whip out both their costumes in a day or so but I want to have the option to do it at my leisure.

I thought that Boston would have a hard time coming up with a costume
idea so I gave the suggestion of a princess, because there for several
months she would introduce herself as such. To this suggestion she
sharply answered saying, "No, something scary!....Like a 'pider, with
lots of arms" Her eyes open twice as she explained it to me. After that
her brother decided on a ghost. I teasingly joked that I didn't know how
to make one of those so he would have to help me. I think I can handle
that one but I think I am going to have him help so that he has
ownership of his costume.

Back to the spider, with lots of arms. For this costume I used a Size 3
Bimaa Sweater with a lined hood. This was originally created for her
cousin but it was too tight so she got it instead. But if you don't sew
or don't sew costumes you could just pick up a black hoodie. For the Pants I used the Size 3 EYMM Jocelyn Leggings. I thought about
making a smaller size (18-24 M) based on her width measurements but it
was my first time sewing the pattern so I didn't want them to be too
small so I just made the size 3. I am a little disappointed in myself
for not going down because I think it would have really helped with the
slouchy crotch part. Oh well. This is another part where you could pull
leggings out of your kids wardrobe or pick up from the store.

Now for the "lots of arms" part. I really was feeling lazy and I didn't
want to go to the store so I shopped my stash and stitched up the bottom
of a pair of Speedy Gonzales footless tights that no longer fit Boston.
Then I filled the legs with batting and then cut them off at the top of
the leg and stitched them close. I didn't have another pair so after looking around I found a small
amount of faux suede and fashioned another set of legs to match. They
ended up being the same width but were a bit longer. I decided to
use these as the bottom legs since they would reach down further to her
actual legs. Using the legging material I made two bands that would tie around her back and positioned the legs so they would match the position of her arms.

To giver her control of all her "arms". I used yarn to make a web on the outside. This was a pretty quick adjustment done with a few loops. I am so glad that I could something that she could love and would make
her so happy, but didn't break our bank or make me crazy. If you took the short cuts in clothes I think this costume could really be a 30 minute project. Giving you more time to jump in leaves, make pumpkin cookies or just enjoy your sweet babies.

The Sisters

We are three sisters, who stay busy feeding, dressing and loving our families. Great women have taught us the domestic arts and we try to live and share that tradition with others, and ever improve upon it. As we navigate through life's adventures our relationship with each other gives us strength through struggles big and small. click here →